Holding a Heart
by Totter4
Summary: The Team runs across a girl calling Jane 'mama'. Where does the girl come from? Who is her father and how will she impact Jane's relationship with Kurt Weller.
1. Chapter 1

Director Mayfair watched from her office as Weller talked with Jane Doe. She gestured for Patterson to enter as the woman approached the doorway.

"What are we going to do with the preliminaries medical results from Jane?" The younger woman asked.

Mayfair leaned back at her desk. "We don't tell any of them."

"Director, she has a right to know—"

"What's the point? We don't know who she is, let alone her child. Where her child is, gender, age, anything…she doesn't need another question without an answer."

"She doesn't know anything about herself. Surely, even this could provide—"

"Patterson, this is an order." She said, not unkindly. "We can save Jane from this small heartbreak."

"Yes, ma'am." She answered reluctantly before leaving the room.

"Jane, with me. Tasha, Reade." He pointed, indicated they'd go around the back of the house. Jane had been on the team for close to four months, becoming an integral part of their lives.

Jane ran behind Weller, taking cover from the opposite side of the door as he nodded and knocked. "FBI, open up." She yelled. One of her tattoos had led them to a trafficking ring, leading them to a seemingly normal house in suburban Connecticut. Kurt quickly burst through the door and ran in with Jane behind him. Jane saw a man lift a gun from the corner of her eye, and she quickly shot him.

"Top floor is clear." She heard Zapata say over the comms.

"Main floor clear."

"Where are the women?" Reade asked as he walked down the stairs with Tasha.

"There's a locked door over here." Kurt called, causing the three other agents to walk towards the team leader. They took cover, preparing for ricochet, as Kurt shot the lock, destroying it.

They descended the stairs, Kurt first, followed by Reade, Zapata, and then Jane.

"It's alright. We're with the FBI." Kurt spoke to the scared women.

Jane looked around as she descended the stairs. There were close to two dozen women in an unfinished basement with seven children, and blankets crumpled on the floor, clearly used to sleep on top of. She noticed the youngest women were huddled in the back of the room with the children. Taking Kurt's lead, the other three agents holstered their guns.

"Reade, order a bus." Weller commanded.

Tasha bent down to check on a woman. "It's alright, you're safe now. We won't hurt you."

Weller looked around, before glancing at Reade and Jane. "See if anyone's hurt, start getting them upstairs. Ambulances won't be long."

Jane nodded before bending to the closest woman. "Are you alright?" She asked kindly. The woman nodded, so Jane continued her line of questioning. "Do you know if anyone else is hurt?"

The woman nodded again. "Charlotte. She's had a fever for the last few days. She's in the back with the children."

Jane nodded. "Wait here." She patted the woman's shoulder softly before standing and making her way to the back of the room. "Are any of you Charlotte?" She noticed a young girl staring at her wide eyed. "Are you Charlotte?"

The girl shook her head and pointed to an older woman.

Jane felt the girl's presence follow her as she knelt down in front of Charlotte. "Charlotte, I'm Jane. Are you alright?"

The woman looked up at Jane with bleary eyes. She couldn't be older than twenty-one. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jane with the FBI. You're safe now. I heard you were sick?" Jane looked down to see the small girl lean against her thigh.

Charlotte swallowed before answering. "Grace said I had a fever. My stomach started hurting a week ago or so. It's hard to tell time here."

"How long have you been down here?"

Charlotte shook her head. "A few years. Maybe more."

Jane frowned. "The paramedics are coming." She heard the roars of the sirens pulling in. "They're here to help." The woman nodded, signaling she understood. "Who are you?" Jane turned her attention to the small girl leaning against her.

"That's Tessa." The woman provided. "She's been here for close to seven months."

"How old are you?" Jane asked gently. She waved the paramedics over as they came down the stairs.

The girl shrugged. Upon seeing the men walk towards them, she hugged Jane's leg to her tightly.

"It's alright." Jane pulled the girl aside as the paramedics began to help Charlotte and some of the children. She assumed that meant most of the other older women were alright. Normally, in these situations, children and the injured were helped first.

Jane stood, but upon seeing the girl wouldn't let go, she sighed and bent down. "Tessa, no one will hurt you." She tried handing the girl off to a waiting paramedic, but she began wailing. "Mama!" She cried, struggling to break free of the paramedic and run back to Jane. Jane noticed the other paramedics and agents looking towards the commotion. Jane nodded towards the paramedic holding the crying girl and nodded, signaling for the girl to be let go. Jane bent down and caught the girl as she ran into Jane's waiting arms. "It's alright." She soothed the still crying girl, picking her up.

"Can you take her to the ambulance outside?" The paramedic asked softly.

Jane nodded and began walking towards the stairs. When she passed Weller, she sent him a shrug, to which he smiled sadly and nodded. As she walked through the house and towards the waiting ambulances in the driveway, she felt her grip tighten on the scared girl curled in her arms. She wasn't sure why she had this reaction, but pushed the confusion away.


	2. Chapter 2

Jane sat with Tessa in her lap as another paramedic waved a light in the small girl's eyes. It was the only way Tessa allowed the paramedics to get anywhere close to her.

"We're finished for now. We'll have to run more at the hospital." The paramedic told Jane as he stood up and pocketed the small penlight.

"Alright. Just hold on a minute." She smiled down at the small girl. "Tessa, I have to go back to work but you need to go with the doctors."

Tessa's lip quivered and she threw her arms around Jane's neck. "No."

"Shh, don't cry." Jane tried to soothe.

"No, I want to stay with you." The girl cried.

"Tessa, you need to go with the doctors. I'll see you at the hospital, okay?"

"No."

Jane sighed and looked around. She didn't see Weller, so she turned to a paramedic. "Can you tell Agent Weller that I'm accompanying her to the hospital." The paramedic nodded before heading back to the house with supplies. "Alright. I'll go with you, okay?" Jane looked down at the girl, who nodded tiredly. She placed her head in the crook of Jane's neck, but her eyes remained open.

As Jane and Tessa rode in the back of the ambulance with a paramedic, Jane looked down at the girl. She was a little dirty, but cute. She had dark hair, bright green eyes, delicate facial structures and a small nose, but overall, cute.

"We're a minute out." The paramedic told her. She nodded in response.

"Tessa, we're almost at the hospital." She informed the girl.

Throughout the ER, Jane sat next to the girl, holding her hand. Eventually, she saw Weller walk through the doors, looking around until his eyes caught Jane's. He approached Jane and her small friend, taking their position in: Jane sat next to the girl, holding her hand as blood was drawn.

"Hey." Her voice was soft.

Kurt glanced at the girl as both she and Jane looked up at him. Something familiar struck him but he shook it off. "All the women and kids are here." He informed her. "We're running them all through the database to find their identities and family."

"And Grayson?" Henry Grayson had been the CEO of Grayson Global, which used its connections to traffic women, children, drugs, and exotic goods around the world.

"Arrested."

"Good." Jane nodded.

"Hi." Weller pulled a chair up to the bed that Jane and Tessa sat on. "I'm Kurt." He smiled softly at the young girl. She was younger than Sawyer, probably three or four.

Tessa looked up at Jane, who nodded her permission. "I'm Tessa."

"That's a pretty name." Kurt smiled wider. "What do you say we talk to someone about getting some crayons for you?"

The girls eyes brightened and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Jane, we should head back to headquarters." He spoke quietly.

She nodded before looking down at Tessa. "Tessa, I've got to go home now." She tried to stand but the girl clung to Jane. Jane tried to soothe the girl, but she was inconsolable. A nurse came and held a sobbing Tessa as Jane reluctantly left with Weller.

Jane arrived at the FBI early the next morning, intent on getting a workout in, but was surprised to see Patterson in Mayfair's office with Weller. She changed direction from her locker to the office and knocked on the door. "Everything alright?" She asked, searching their eyes. Mayfair looked solemn, while Patterson looked at Jane wide eyed, and Kurt looked…angry.

"Jane, come in." Mayfair gestured for the consultant to close the door behind her.

"Did we find another case-"

"It's not that." Mayfair interrupted. "We were running DNA on the women we found last night and..one came back with a match to you."

"What?" Jane was shocked. This was a clue to her unknown past. Was it a sister? Cousin? Kurt had said her mother, Emma, was dead, but maybe...

"Tessa." Kurt's mouth was in a hard line.

"What?"

"Tessa had a match to you, Jane." Patterson explained. "I was running the DNA through all the databases…even ours. I hoped we could find family for all of them, especially the kids. Most of the women were being trafficked _into_ the United States, but a few of them were…found matches and were declared dead by—"

"Wait…Tessa. How is she related to me? Kurt said Emma Shaw died—"

"She's your daughter." Mayfair glanced at the other agents.

"What?" Jane's eyes widened. She had all of her memories erased…surely it wasn't intentional if she forgot about her daughter. But Charlotte had told her last night that Tessa had been with them months, months longer than Jane had been with the FBI. Suddenly, she remembered. "She called me 'mama' last night." She shook her head. "I didn't realize…"

"You couldn't have known." Weller finally spoke. "Take the day off, go see her." He glanced at Mayfair and Patterson before continuing. "I'll call the hospital and let them know we….you're coming."

Jane nodded disbelievingly. "Okay." She said dully.

As soon as Jane turned and left the room, Kurt rounded on Patterson and Mayfair. "You didn't tell her that she had a daughter." He shook his head. "She had a right—"

"Weller, there's more." Mayfair nodded at Patterson to continue.

"What?" Weller grew frustrated when Patterson didn't speak immediately.

"The system came up with more than one match for a parent." Patterson bit her lip.

Kurt swallowed roughly. Perhaps they could find a boyfriend or husband that was looking for Jane. It was a bittersweet thought. "That's good."

"It wasn't expected." Mayfair prodded Patterson to continue.

"I ran her DNA twice. And had the hospital send another sample." She shook her head. "You said you'd never met Jane before she was brought here."

"Right. What does that have to do with Jane and Tessa?"

" _You_ were the match, Kurt."

Weller's brows furrowed. "That's not possible." He shook his head.

"She's approximately three and a half years old. I'm still searching hospitals for that time…but it'll take awhile, and it's unlikely we'll find any records about Jane." Patterson told him.

"Where were you four years ago that you and Jane could have crossed paths?" Mayfair leant forward.

Kurt shook his head. "I would have remembered her." He closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "I was leading a team with Reade, Tash wasn't on it yet. We were all over the states and…"

"And?" Mayfair waited patiently.

"I got shot. I was in the hospital for close to a month. I was in a medically induced coma for two days."

Mayfair shot a look to Patterson. "I'll check hospital records." Patterson left the room.

"I should go to the hospital." Kurt spoke after a few minutes.

"Weller." Mayfair's stopped the agent as he was reaching for the doorhandles. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way. But congratulations."

He nodded jerkily before leaving the room, and the building without being stopped. He knew there was no way he and Jane had ever met before so he of course wondered how they could have a child together.


	3. Chapter 3

Jane got to the hospital quickly, however she used the train so Weller was waiting for her when she arrived. "Hey." She said, surprised to see the other agent.

"Hey." He said awkwardly. He wondered how he could tell Jane. Would she feel violated? Should he?

"I talked to the Nurse." He shoved his hands in his pocket. "She's upstairs in the pediatrics ward. Room 346."

"Thanks." She glanced towards the elevator, wanting to see the child—her child—again, but curious as to why Weller showed up. "Why are you here?" She asked bluntly.

For once Weller didn't know what to say. "I…" He couldn't put it into words. Jane was his friend…she was Taylor. He couldn't not tell her, but he wasn't sure if he could. "Can we talk?"

Jane blinked. She wanted to see Tessa… her daughter. But based on Weller's face, she knew she needed to know something. "Sure. Let's get a cup of coffee."

They headed towards the cafeteria and once both had strong cups of coffee, they sat in a quiet, empty part of the hallway. Jane was the first to speak. "Is everything alright?" She watched as Weller shifted uncomfortably. "Kurt?"

"Yeah." He shook his head. "Sorry." He turned his attention from the floor to her green eyes. "Right." He cleared his throat, still unsure what to say. "When you left…Mayfair wasn't done. Patterson found your DNA in Tessa. But there was another match."

Jane's eyes widened. "Her father?" Jane knew what this meant. It meant that they knew the name of someone that held a piece of her mysterious past. "Is he a criminal? How did Patterson find him? Is he in New York?"

"It was me." Kurt watched as Jane opened and closed her mouth, trying to figure out if she was angry.

"You?" She thought they never met before. "How is that possible?" She rasped out.

Kurt shook his head. "I'm not sure."

Jane stood up suddenly. "I think…I think it's best if you don't meet her. Until we find out what happened really—"

"Jane—"

"She's been hurt enough. She _recognized_ me. At the very least, I acted like her mother once. Someone…could have hacked the FBI and changed your DNA to match her's. We don't know."

"Jane, that's not fair."

"I'm her mother." Jane never thought she'd say those words. But since she found out about Tessa, she knew the one thing she could do is make sure the girl was safe and loved. And she didn't want that girl to face the same heartbreak.

"Please-"

"I'm going to see her. I'll talk to you later to figure all of this out." Jane started to walk away, but was stopped by a hand on her arm.

"Jane, please. You know _me-_ "

"I don't know _me. Please_ , just let me make sure my daughter is alright."

"Let me make sure _our_ daughter is alright."

"I'm begging you. Just wait until Patterson can run a more conclusive test with new DNA from both of you drawn at the FBI. Please."

Kurt's hand fell, defeated. "Fine." He watched as Jane opened her mouth to say something but closed it and turned around silently instead, walking away from him.

Jane walked out of the elevator to the room Kurt had told her Tessa occupied. She waited outside the door for a moment, watching the small, dark haired girl color. She was a carbon copy of Jane. She didn't see any Kurt in the girl yet, except maybe the silent treatment the nurses were given last night.

"Mama!" The girl looked up to see Jane.

"Hi." Jane crossed her arms awkwardly as she approached her daughter. "You remember me." She smiled slightly as she sat down in the chair next to Tessa.

"Don't be silly, mama." Tessa rolled her eyes. "I'm making a picture."

"What is it?"

"It's us." Jane saw that, in fact, Tessa had drawn two figures with black crayon hair sitting at a table. "Why'd you cut your hair mama?"

Jane raised a hand to her hair and frowned. She must have had long hair before the tattoos. "Do you like it?" She avoided answering.

"It's pretty." Tessa reached her hand out to touch Jane's hair. "I missed you." She stood on her bed and kissed Jane on the nose. "Where'd you go, mama?"

Jane bit her lip. "Tessa, I got sick." She didn't know how to explain her predicament to this young girl she had no memories of.

"Do you need a band-aid?"

Tessa chuckled and allowed Tessa to move onto her lap. "No, I don't, but it was a kind offer." Jane felt the girl lean against her chest. "I hurt my head and forgot who I was. I still don't remember but I'm glad we found each other."

"You don't remember me?" Tessa looked up at her mother.

Jane didn't know what to say, so she figured honesty was the best option. "I'm sorry. But I want to know you. Because I'm your…mama." Jane stroked her daughter's hair hesitantly. "Will you forgive me?"

"'Course." Tessa smiled before cuddling back to her mother.

"Tessa…" Jane started awkwardly. "Do you remember anything about our old life…where we lived? Who we lived with? Where you went to school?"

Tessa shrugged. "I don't remember, mama. Sometimes I remember little bits but I remember _you_." Tessa looked up to her mother proudly.

Jane smiled despite the sick feeling in her stomach. Whoever had wiped her own memories had also wiped Tessa's. They took away a little girl's memories and then gave her to horrible people.

Jane was shaken from her thoughts as Tessa snuggled closer into Jane's embrace. "When are we going to go home, mama?"

"I'm not sure." Jane brushed her hand softly to move Tessa's hair out of her face. She hadn't realized until that moment that everything felt a little better and with Tessa in her arms, things felt _right_ for the first time.


	4. Chapter 4

Jane had spent the night at the hospital with Tessa curled into her side. She'd had a hard time sleeping, thinking of her predicament with Weller. On the one hand, he was her friend, possibly more than that but on the other, she felt betrayed and she didn't want Tessa to get confused or hurt.

While Tessa was eating breakfast that one of the Nurses had brought in, Jane sipped her coffee. Tessa would be able to leave the hospital the next day and Jane needed to set up a room for Tessa. Would it be temporary? What would happen it turned out that Kurt was Tessa's father? Would she share a room with Sawyer in Weller's apartment and split Tessa's time between them? Or would Kurt and Jane share an apartment? She wasn't sure what was right in the current climate, especially given that they never had even slept together.

"Tess." Jane brushed some hair out of her daughter's face. "I have to go into work today for awhile. But I'll be back tonight."

"Why do you have to go, mama?" Tessa pouted, looking like a carbon copy of her mother.

"Because I want to be able to take time off when you are able to come home." Jane explained gently. "I want to be able to take you to the park, and the zoo, and…"

"To get ice cream?" Tessa smiled widely, excited at the prospect of getting to spend time with her mother again.

"If you're good."

"I'll be good."

"I'll bring you back a special treat tonight, yeah?" Jane kissed Tessa's head.

"Okay."

"Before leave, Tess, there's one thing." Jane hesitated reaching for the bag the nurse had given her an hour earlier. "I need to just run this in your mouth for a second." Jane showed Tessa the swab. Patterson had called and told Jane to bring her own swab of DNA from Tessa to check against Kurt, to ensure nothing in the system had been manipulated.

Tessa nodded. "Chocolate?"

"Fine." Jane laughed. "But open now." Tessa complied and Jane quickly took a sample before placing it securely in a ziplock bag. "Be good, Tessa. I'll see you soon." She kissed her daughter once more before walking out the door, waving to a nurse as she departed.

When Jane walked into the CJC, she met Kurt's eyes. She knew she was late, but also knew that it would be understood, considering her current predicament. She nodded at him, but swiftly moved in the opposite direction towards Patterson's lab.

"Hey." She knocked on the door to alert Patterson to her presence.

"Jane." Patterson smiled. "How's Tessa?"

"She's good." Jane nodded. "I, uh, brought the sample." She quickly handed the bag over to the fellow agent.

"Great." Patterson nodded. "I already took one from Weller when he got in this morning. I'll run it myself and get back to you by lunch." Patterson smiled softly.

"Thanks, Patterson."

"Anytime."

"I was wondering…" Jane bit her lip nervously. "During lunch, would you want to go to the store with me? I need to Tessa some things…a bed and some clothes at least—"

"Of course." Patterson sensed Jane's nervousness. "It'll be fun." She smiled.

"Thank you."

Patterson winked. "Get to work, Jane. I need to run these samples."

"Right." Jane sighed. She wasn't sure what she wanted: Weller to be the father or not. "See you at lunch."


	5. Chapter 5

Jane fidgeted by the elevator, waiting for Patterson to appear.

"Hey." The blonde smiled as she pulled her coat over her shoulders. "Sorry I'm late, I was waiting for the results."

Jane nodded and hit the elevator button. Once inside, she turned to the scientist. "What did it say?"

"You're the mother….and Weller is definitely the father."

"Okay." Jane nodded, more to herself than Patterson.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Jane smiled shakily. "I just kind of expected it not to be true. Did you tell him yet?"

"No, I figured you may want to."

"We're not exactly on speaking terms. I kicked him out of the hospital. Didn't let him see her."

"He'll understand, Jane. It's a lot to digest." Patterson walked out of the now open elevator door, and walked next to the taller woman.

"I just don't know what to say."

"Something's better than nothing." Patterson grinned. "He'll be happy…confused, but happy." Patterson reassured as they walked into the restaurant they were eating at.

"I don't know. I don't know what it means for us as partners…"

"Things change, Jane." Patterson shrugged as she walked beside Jane to their table.

That night, Jane left Tessa at the hospital. She had told the girl that she had to set up her room for Tessa's homecoming. And Jane had done that, but she also had one important errand to run. She was standing in the middle of an empty room in an empty warehouse.

"Oscar!" She called out, waiting for her handler.

"Jane." Oscar smiled.

"Why didn't you tell me about her?" Jane crossed her arms angrily.

Oscar knew what she was talking about. He'd helped wipe Tessa when she was causing problems with Jane's commitment to the cause. "You didn't want to remember. You lost her—"

"I could have been looking!"

"We never gave up on her." And he wasn't lying. He had loved the woman standing in front of her and even loved her child though she wasn't his own.

"What about Weller? What does he have to do with this."

"I can't tell you." Oscar recited the often repeated line.

"Why not? How does he not remember me—"

"Jane, I can't. Just know that she is yours." Oscar couldn't say the words that Tessa was also shared with his rival for Jane's heart.

Jane didn't know what else to say. She knew that whatever she asked, she wouldn't receive an answer. "Oscar…"

"Go home Jane." Oscar smiled sadly, wanting to reach out and touch her, but he kept his arm at his side. "Finish getting her room ready."

Jane opened her front door and smiled as Tessa ran in, excitably exploring the room. Patterson had been kind enough to help her clear out her spare room and fill it with a child's bed and decorate it for Tessa's quick arrival. She couldn't believe she'd known Tessa for three days. Her daughter felt like a piece of her and she couldn't imagine living without her now. She had artfully avoided Kurt Weller since finding out about Tessa's paternity. She knew that he knew. He kept giving her these unreadable glances. The first day they found out, she saw him walking over to her, and she overtly hid from him. She assumed that, after that, he got the hint.

She was sitting on Tessa's bed reading the girl a book when someone knocked on the door. "Stay here for a second." She handed Tessa the book and walked out of the room towards the front door. She opened the door to reveal the man she'd been avoiding. "Kurt."

"Hey. I hope it's okay I stopped by. Can we talk?"

Jane glanced behind her. "Now really isn't a god time, Weller."

"Is she home?" Kurt's voice was low and his eyes scanned the room behind Jane. "She's okay?"

"Yeah, they released her today. We've been home for a couple of hours."

They stood in the doorway in silence for a few moments, neither knowing what to say. Kurt wanted to plead with Jane and Jane wanted him to say something, anything, to convince her to let him know her—their—daughter. They were interrupted by the pitter patter of small feet. "Mama?" Tessa, in all of her glory, stood behind Jane. "Who's that?"


End file.
